Friday, March 30, 2012

A little bit about antiquing your metals

There's nothing more romantic than the appearance that age lends to a piece of jewelry. But when you're buying your jewelry components new, they might not have that look that you're going for, and darkening or antiquing is required. I personally don't need to darken my own metals, because I buy them all pre-darkened from VintageJewelrySupplies.com

But if you're going the route of making your own dark finish, here's a couple ideas. There are many methods out there, but I'm going to share two of them here.

This first one works on wires in silver and copper. I've never done this with brass filigree, though I think I will experiment with it in the near future. This tutorial was made by Szilviabead on DeviantArt.Com, please visit the original to see the creator's comments.




A hard boiled egg is certainly the lowest cost method I've ever seen. This next method will require that you spend a little money, but it's still a reasonably priced alternative.

You can purchase liver of sulfer in multiple forms, the simple version is to buy the gel, which you can find on Etsy.Com or here at FireMountainGems.Com This form of liver of sulfer is wonderful because you don't have to worry about mixing anything or equalizing the chemical when you're done.

These pictures are the step by step process of how the liver of sulfer gel works on copper wire, these are by Geisha Creations. She buffs the wire with steel wool when it's all done soaking in the liver of sulfer, to get the lovely shine and bring out some of the original color.











Please visit Geisha Creation's Facebook page where the original images are located, here.

Hope you find these tips on applying your own finishes useful!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Peacock Tres Chic is back!

The time has come for Peacock Tres Chic to open back up for business! The Etsy shop is back up and running, I'll be listing new items daily. I'm very excited about the new stuff, most of it is entirely new to me, I went out of my way to buy materials I've never worked with before. I used some materials as a crutch, and used them again and again. I've widened my scope to new stampings and crystals, and I love playing with new techniques.

Here are some of the new pieces you'll find at Peacock Tres Chic.

Rapunzel's Song




Briar Rose



An Extravagant Entrance




Briar Thorns in Amethyst




Morgause


Thursday, March 1, 2012

Happy national craft month!

March 1st marks the beginning of national craft month, which I think is spectacular. I love that crafting is so widely recognized and celebrated. There are lots of good things going on this month.
JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts stores have a flyer this month just exploding with coupons for their coupon commotion. If you don't get them sent to your home, you can sign up on JoAnn's website, or in stores.

Also FusionBeads.com is hosting a 30 day bead challenge, which I am participating in. I'm looking forward to challenging myself, learning new things, and testing my determination to start and finish something lol You can get a list of the 30 day challenge here at FusionBeads.com. They have a PDF that you can download and print out, and they encourage you to share your daily challenges on their Facebook Page here. You'll be seeing my stuff there, though I might not get around to posting it every single day. I'm a very busy mommy these days.

Day 1: Make earrings.





In other news Peacock Tres Chic on Etsy will be closed down for a short time while I prepare the total makeover. Look for new items in the next couple weeks!